The Song of the Sea

In short

Exodus 15:1-18. It was sung by “Moses and the people of Israel” (v. 1) after Pharaoh and his army drowned and Israel crossed through the sea on their way out of Egypt.

Why it is important

I’ll let Wikipedia* explain:

“The Song of the Sea was reputedly sung by the Israelites after their crossing the Red Sea in safety, and celebrates the destruction of the Egyptian army during the crossing, and looks forward to the future conquest of Canaan. The poem is included in Jewish prayer books, and recited daily in the morning shacharit services. …It is also used in the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and other Christian liturgies at the Easter Vigil when the history of salvation is recounted.”

I (Jason) am not suggesting we have Easter vigils nor Jewish shacharit services. But just know that this poem is legendary in Jewish and Christian tradition.

What is in this poem

Apparently, people have different ways of breaking this poem up into verses (verses like a song, not verses of the Bible).

But there is at least a clear split in the middle of the poem.

• The first half recounts the events of pharaoh’s army being drowned, and in VERY vivid language
• The second half describes the legacy of this, how other nations will fear the God of Israel while He protects and exalts His own people

Exodus 14 is the story of these events, and God is, of course, behind it all, but he acts through

• Moses
• The angel of God
• The pillar of cloud
• The sea
• A strong east wind

The first half of the poem (verses 1-13) also credits God but in a VERY different way; it describes God himself doing the action.

• Verse 1, “I will sing to the LORD, for he has triumphed gloriously”
• Verse 4, “Pharaoh’s chariots and his host he cast into the sea”
• Verse 6, “your right hand, O LORD, shatters the enemy”
• Verse 8, “At the blast of your nostrils the waters piled up”
• Verse 12, “You stretched out your right hand; the earth swallowed them”

The second half of the poem (verses 14-18) describe nations that will fear Israel after this. They are:

• Philistia (think Goliath)
• Edom (who refused passage to Israel; Num 20:14-21)
• Moab (think Balak)
• Canaan (which they conquer and turn into Israel)
• All of these nations are not yet enemies of Israel at this point, but they will be

And verses 17-18 sound like a prophecy that would be in Jeremiah, “You will bring them in and plant them on your own mountain…. The LORD will reign forever and ever.”

The text in the ESV

“I will sing to the LORD, for he has triumphed gloriously;

the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea.

²  The LORD is my strength and my song,

and he has become my salvation;

this is my God, and I will praise him,

my father’s God, and I will exalt him.

³  The LORD is a man of war;

the LORD is his name.

⁴  “Pharaoh’s chariots and his host he cast into the sea,

and his chosen officers were sunk in the Red Sea.

⁵  The floods covered them;

they went down into the depths like a stone.

⁶  Your right hand, O LORD, glorious in power,

your right hand, O LORD, shatters the enemy.

⁷  In the greatness of your majesty you overthrow your adversaries;

you send out your fury; it consumes them like stubble.

⁸  At the blast of your nostrils the waters piled up;

the floods stood up in a heap;

the deeps congealed in the heart of the sea.

⁹  The enemy said, ‘I will pursue, I will overtake,

I will divide the spoil, my desire shall have its fill of them.

I will draw my sword; my hand shall destroy them.’

¹⁰  You blew with your wind; the sea covered them;

they sank like lead in the mighty waters.

¹¹  “Who is like you, O LORD, among the gods?

Who is like you, majestic in holiness,

awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders?

¹²  You stretched out your right hand;

the earth swallowed them.

¹³  “You have led in your steadfast love the people whom you have redeemed;

you have guided them by your strength to your holy abode.

¹⁴  The peoples have heard; they tremble;

pangs have seized the inhabitants of Philistia.

¹⁵  Now are the chiefs of Edom dismayed;

trembling seizes the leaders of Moab;

all the inhabitants of Canaan have melted away.

¹⁶  Terror and dread fall upon them;

because of the greatness of your arm, they are still as a stone,

till your people, O LORD, pass by,

till the people pass by whom you have purchased.

¹⁷  You will bring them in and plant them on your own mountain,

the place, O LORD, which you have made for your abode,

the sanctuary, O Lord, which your hands have established.

¹⁸  The LORD will reign forever and ever.”

Footnotes

* Retrieved January 19, 2021 from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Song_of_the_Sea